Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake

Looking for a delicious alternative to a store bought vegan roast to serve at your next holiday meal? Well this Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake has you covered! Full of the flavors of the Southwest – corn, beans, chilis, onions – and topped with a delightful, creamy Cashew Cream Sauce, it’s perfect for any family meal.

Great for the Holidays, or any time!

Take this Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake to your next holiday gathering, or just serve it up any night of the week. It also makes a great meal prep item for lunch at the office, a quick leftover dinner, or heck, I even eat it for breakfast!

Watch the video to see how it’s made.

If you want to see exactly how I made my Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake, check out the video here, and don’t forget to leave a thumbs up and a comment!

I made this delicious Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake at Thanksgiving and it was so good, I just had to share it as a holiday recipe. It’s colorful, delicious, and really easy to make! Yes, there are a few components to it, but I promise you, it is nothing hard! Additionally, you can make the cashew cream sauce ahead of time. And, you can use it for so many things!

The Cashew Cream

If you’ve never made cashew cream before, you should definitely try it out! Cashew cream is so versatile, because you can change the flavor or texture of it very easily. You can use it for anything from sauces to cake frosting – the possibilities are endless!

Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake with Cashew Cream Sauce

I have to admit, I only started making and using it very recently and I am obsessed! If you want a primer on how to make a few different varieties, I suggest you check out this blog post from Rainbow Plant Life. She goes in depth about how to make it, and offers several varieties.

Southwest Veggie Polenta Bake

This southwestern inspired recipe is perfect for any family meal or holiday gathering.

Course
Dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine
American, vegan

Prep Time20minutes

Cook Time25minutes

Servings6

Calories346kcal

Ingredients

For the veggies

2-3tspoil

1cuponiondiced

2-3clovesgarlic

1 1/2cupsmushroomssliced

1cupmixed bell peppers (red, yellow, greensliced or diced

1poblano pepper(optional)

1canblack beansrinsed

1tspchili flakes

1tspground cumin

1tspchili powder

1/2tspsalt

1/4tspground black pepper

3cupswater

For the Polenta

1cupcorn grits/ polenta

1Tbspvegan butter or olive oil

1tsp.salt

For the Cashew Cream Sauce

1cup cashewssoaked

3/4 cupwater

2clovesgarlic

2Tbspnutritional yeast

1 1/2Tbsplemon juice

1/2tspsalt

1pinchblack pepper

Extras (optional)

1/2cupvegan cheese

1avocadosliced

hot sauce

Instructions

To Make the Cashew Cream Sauce

Before starting the veggies and polenta, soak the cashews in hot water. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe. The cashew cream can also be made ahead of time.

When you are finished preparing the other ingredients, place the cashews, water, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend until creamy.

To make the veggie filling

Add the onion to a skillet with 2-3 tsp. of heated oil. Add the garlic to the onions, once they have softened a bit and stir. Add the mushrooms, spreading them out so that they are all touching the cooking surface (mushrooms need room to breathe). Once the mushrooms have started to soften and brown a little, add the peppers. Stir well and then add the beans. Stir again and add the chili flakes, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and until heated through. Set aside.

To make the polenta

Add the salt and oil to the boiling water, then add the corn meal (polenta). As soon as you add the polenta, turn the heat down to low and stir to remove any lumps. The mixture will get very hot and bubbly very quickly, so put a lid on loosely to keep it from splattering. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the polenta is nice and creamy. Pour the polenta evenly into a square baking dish.

Put it all together

Spread the veggie mixture on top of the polenta in the baking dish. Pour the cashew cream over everything. Add some vegan cheese shreds on top if desired. Bake at 350F for 20 – 25 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes to brown the top. Don’t over broil – it will burn your creation!

Enjoy with avocado or guacamole, hot sauce, and a dollop of vegan sour cream (you could make cashew sour cream if you like!)

Jones LeFae is an active, vegan mom who is an archaeologist as well as a fantastic cook! Vegerarchy is about living a healthy, conscious lifestyle and following your dreams. Jones takes you on culinary and archaeological adventures and shares her eco-friendly family lifestyle with you!Learn more here…